Highly Commended Story - The Prodigious, Haunted House

“The Prodigious, Haunted House” by Aarnavii Ganguly, Abbotsbury Primary School, London, UK, is the Highly Commended story in the senior category of the first biannual Short Story Contest 2019.

Aarnavii is a Year 5 student at Abbotsbury Primary School, London, UK. She is an avid reader and loves writing stories and poems. Her favourite author is Eleanor H Porter because of her book, Pollyanna. The character inspired her because of her cheerful nature. Her favourite books are Heidi and Black Beauty. Aarnavii aspires to become a research scientist and an author/poet because she wants to help people with her research and also wants to entertain people through her books. She is also passionate about dancing and swimming.

The Prodigious, Haunted House

Saffron-coloured house stood on the wooden surface; with a youth sighing in front of the Persian entrance. The rustling mustard leaves covered the mansion which was standing like a statue. The azure coloured windows clattered as the vicious breeze wanted to push it away. The bewildered young man took a tiny step forward; he then took a deep breath and slowly, crept into the yellow structure.

The boy had gone on an adventurous picnic with his companions. For entertainment, they all played hide and seek. Sadly, he went too deep in the woods and lost his way out. He was extremely petrified. For a while, he searched his way out but failed to do so. Then all of a sudden, after looking for a while, he came across a colossal monument.

As his hand reached out to unlock the house, the door creaked and then stomped as if in anger. As soon as he entered, the door got locked and the poor boy was unable to open it again. With tears in his eyes, he moved inside. There was a smell of dust and rotten food. His eyes caught the view of an ancient recliner, which was ripped and twisted. He suddenly experienced a millisecond of rigorous anxiety. He walked further, hoping to find something in the journey that would please him. Spider webs were at the vertices of the cubical room. The webs covered some of the furniture like the translucent, emerald lamp.

As his feet ended up on the chestnut floor, he could hear a screeching sound following his ears. A bit of clatter and rattle added up to depress the youngster. Tap-tapping on the wall was heard through his inquisitive eardrums. He could hear a continuous whirr and a low vibration. It threatened the teenager and made him panic. After a moment, he went investigating the obscure mansion. After a few minutes of walking, he found a broken, dusty and ghastly staircase. It made him cheer up because he thought he may find an exit to leave the mansion. As he started climbing the stairs, he saw the staircases increasing and he was sure that they were increasing. “Is it an illusion?” asked the inquisitive boy. He got on a staircase which was unusual (the staircase consisted: fuchsia railings and honeydew stairs). You could tell it was more than fifty years old. It looked as if no one has walked inside for ages. The steps thudded as he was rising up on the staircase. The steps never seemed to end until twenty minutes of continuous climbing. He gave a tiny sigh of relief as he could see light coming from a room.

All of these things were very arduous. Even though, the cold was pinching his arm, he was sweating profusely. The obnoxious place had trapped him inside. “The house looked so appealing to me but there is a quote I should have remembered: never judge a book by its cover,” said the gloomy youth. When he entered the room, he saw some pictures of toothless men smiling, cannibals and people with deceiving smiles. He really felt uneasy after seeing all this but, he calmed himself.

He was indeed isolated in the unpredictable place. There was nothing to give him company aside from his thoughts. He started to cry and then fell on his knees. “There is nothing anybody can do about it now,” he said with a sorrow in his voice. He was extremely frightened and anxious now. His body was trembling and shaking with fear. After consoling himself, he looked at the vast surrounding. Then he turned around, to his surprise there was a maze of stairs all intersecting. “How is it possible?” he exclaimed. He tormented in every way, trying to think.

He then gathered up courage and yelled “Hello, anybody here?” But no one replied. He could only hear noises of crunching and a bit of babbling. He was in disbelief and started to think if he is ever going to see the light of the day.

He walked towards where he had come from, trying to trace back his steps but got no luck. He was trapped and lost in the prodigious, haunted house…